Blade with tip rail cooling

Abstract

An apparatus and method for cooling a blade tip for a turbine engine can include an blade, such as a cooled turbine blade, having a tip rail extending beyond a tip wall enclosing an interior for the blade at the tip. A plurality of film-holes can be provided in the tip rail. A flow of cooling fluid can be provided through the film-holes from the interior of the blade to cool the tip of the blade.

What is claimed is: 
     
       1. A blade for a turbine engine, the blade comprising:
 a body defining an interior, and extending axially between a leading edge and a trailing edge to define a chord-wise direction and radially between a root and a tip to define a span-wise direction, which terminates in a tip end wall and a tip rail extending from the tip end wall; 
 at least one cooling passage formed in the interior; 
 at least two radially-spaced cooling cavities within the tip rail and comprising at least one cooling conduit fluidly coupled to the at least one cooling passage; 
 at least one connecting conduit fluidly coupling the at least two radially-spaced cooling cavities; and 
 a set of film-holes having an inlet fluidly coupled to at least one of the radially-spaced cooling cavities and an outlet provided on an exterior surface located along a radial distal end of the tip rail;
 wherein each of the at least two radially-spaced cooling cavities comprises a set of cavities and each set of cavities comprises at least two axially-spaced cooling cavities; and, 
 wherein the at least two axially-spaced cooling cavities are fluidly coupled to each other by another connecting conduit. 
 
 
     
     
       2. The blade of  claim 1  wherein at least a portion of the exterior surface of the tip rail defines a tip plenum and a second set of film-holes are fluidly coupled to the tip plenum. 
     
     
       3. The blade of  claim 1  wherein the at least one cooling conduit comprises multiple cooling conduits. 
     
     
       4. The blade of  claim 1  wherein the at least one connecting conduit comprises multiple connecting conduits. 
     
     
       5. The blade of  claim 1  wherein the at least two radially-spaced cooling cavities comprises three or more radially-spaced cooling cavities.